Making the List
by Kimnns
Summary: A little bit of history of where Josh's "list" comes from.


Title: Making the List  
Spoilers: Isaac and Ishmael  
Summary: A little bit of history of where Josh's "list" comes from.  
Rating: PG  
Archive: Sure, just let me know.  
Notes: I knew the ultimate cure for writer's block would be a new episode. Aaron, Josh and Donna did not disappoint. Many thanks to Michelle for the beta.  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *   
  
  
He catches up to her at the top of the stairs leading from the mess. They're quiet for a few moments as they make their way back through the bullpen.   
  
Josh finally breaks the silence as they part, turning into his office as Donna makes her way back to her desk. "You know," he says, grabbing onto the doorframe. "You're still on my list."  
  
"This list holds no consequences, Joshua, and you know it."   
  
"The list has consequences. So many consequences that you should tremble in fear of the list and what it could do to you."  
  
"I've been on the list for over three years."  
  
He makes his way into his office yelling back, "Fear the list and it's powers, Donna."  
  
"Your list has never scared me," she says more to herself than him since he's already back in his office and she's speaking in a tone only a little over a whisper.   
  
Then she laughs out loud remembering how completely untrue that statement once was.   
  
* * *  
  
Her track record with jobs had been less than impressive. In fact, it had been downright miserable. She had five jobs in her life and four had ended with being fired. Her final dismissal notice had been handed to her six days before she left Wisconsin to head to Manchester. She decided that getting canned was yet another sign that she should get the hell out of there. That night she counted all her signs and realized she had one hundred and twenty seven. One hundred and twenty seven sounded like a nice round number.   
  
She assumed it was impossible to get fired from job she didn't even get paid for, but considering her past luck, it was highly probable that at any moment Josh could snatch her staff badge away as quickly as he had given it to her.   
  
Impression, she decided, was the key to job security.   
  
This is why only three weeks into working with Josh on the Campaign trail she stood on line at the Tallahassee Comfort Inn front desk for over a half an hour.   
  
"Donna," Josh belted out, jogging across the front lobby. "I've been looking for you for fifteen minutes. The bus is leaving, let's go."  
  
"I'm next on line. I just need to settle the bill. Give me five minutes."  
  
"This place has automatic checkout." He grabbed onto her duffel bag and started to drag it across the hall. "Come on. There's a vein in Toby's head that's about to pop if we don't get on that bus right now."  
  
Donna grabbed onto the other end of the duffel bag and started pulling back. "There's a problem with the bill, Josh."  
  
He dropped his end of the bag, causing Donna to fall back and stumble back a bit, struggling to keep her balance. "Sorry," he said, grabbing onto her arm and stabilizing her. "Now, what's wrong?"  
  
She unfolded the bill and showed him the error. "See," she said, pointing to an extra charge. "They billed you for a movie."  
  
Donna had decided that if she could show Josh and the others that she was on top of things and willing to argue to save money that it would help her in the future.   
  
However, the look Josh was giving her didn't exactly make her think this was the best of ideas.   
  
"Cause, you see," she continued, pointing to the bill. "It says you ordered George of the Jungle yesterday at five in the morning. What I'm thinking is that there was that family next door to your room with the little kids. They must of ordered it and something went wrong with the billing."  
  
Josh gave her a blank look for a few moments, then turning his attention to the group of Japanese tourists behind them that were gathering interest in the whole situation. "Okay, grab your bag, we're going."  
  
"But Josh, you just can't let them charge you. We have to save money."  
  
"Donna, let's go. . ."  
  
"No, I'm next in line. It will only take a minute. Tell Toby I''m--"  
  
"Donna!!" he whispered in a sharp tone, leaning forward so they were face to face.   
  
"Umm. . . .yeah??" She held on to her staff badge, thinking that if he was about to take it from her that at least she could put up a bit of a fight.   
  
"I ordered the stupid movie. Now, can we go?"  
  
"Ohhhhhh," she breathed out quietly.   
  
She had learned over the last couple of weeks that Josh wasn't exactly what you would call mature. The time him and Sam sat around for three hours on the bus one day remembering all the words to "We Didn't Start the Fire" proved this to her. But she still never would have pegged Josh as George of the Jungle type of guy.   
  
"You ordered George of the Jungle at five in the morning?"   
  
"Yes," he blushed, amusing Donna even more. "I couldn't sleep and there was nothing on TV."  
  
She smiled. "Okay,"  
  
"You're going to make of me now, aren't you?"  
  
"No, I'm not going to make fun of you." And she wasn't. Her plan of impressing the new boss didn't involve making fun of him.   
  
Well, until she found out about Josh's cinematic preferences she hadn't planned on making fun of him.   
  
The couple in front of them cleared away from the desk, and a smiling concierge greeted Josh and Donna. "Can I help you?"  
  
"No," Donna smiled, handing Josh over the hotel bill and grabbing onto her bag. "Jungle boy and I were just leaving."  
  
Josh gasped as Donna started towards the front door and the group of Japanese tourists started to giggle.  
  
"Did you just call me 'Jungle Boy?'"  
  
"Yep," she said, speeding up.   
  
"Okay, well, you know what this means."  
  
She stopped to face him. "What?"  
  
"You're now on my list."  
  
"Your list?"  
  
"Yep," he said, grabbing the bag off her shoulder and throwing it over his own. "It's a very serious list."  
  
She stood silent, trying to decide if she should be afraid of this so called list. Josh didn't exactly seem like the list type so perhaps the fact that he has one should scare her.   
  
"Oh, and Donna. Don't tell Sam about the movie thing, 'kay?"  
  
"Why? He'll make fun of you?"  
  
"No, he'll be upset I didn't invite him to watch."  
  
*  
  
A couple hours later as they all filed off the bus for a pit stop at a 7-11 outside of Atlanta, Donna pulled Margaret aside to ask a very important question.  
  
"Margaret," Donna started, looking around the crowd to make sure no one was listening. "Does Josh have, like, a list?"  
  
Margaret squinted her eyes, looking confused. "What kind of list?"  
  
"Well, back at the hotel in Tallahassee I kind of made fun of Josh and called him a name. He said I was now on his list."  
  
"You made fun of him?"  
  
"Uh-huh?"  
  
"And called him a name?"  
  
"Yeah," she sighed.  
  
"Oh," she said, running back towards the bus. "Wait until I tell Leo. He's gonna love this."  
  
"Wait," Donna said, grabbing onto her arm. "Is Leo going to get mad at me?"  
  
"No," she said, patting her arm. "You're doing just fine."   
  
* * *  
  
He slammed down the phone and let out a huge growl. "I swear that woman is related to. . . ."  
  
"Who?" Donna asked, throwing down her pen and looking up at him.  
  
Josh's arguments with Mandy were something Donna had grown use to since she had started working for Josh. They varied in seriousness. Sometimes they'd be small little disputes that anyone who didn't know Josh and Mandy could possibly call cute. But those who did know them were aware that the huge knockout fights were anything but cute.   
  
Donna could only hear Josh's side of the argument today but it didn't seem to be all that serious. Something possibly having to do with fish but Donna wasn't too sure about that.  
  
"She's related to who?" she questioned again.   
  
"I dunno, gimme the name of some evil historical figure."  
  
Her eyes grew big, a smile spreading across her face. "I know! Nellie on Little House on the Prairie."  
  
"Uhhh. . .someone not fictional, Donna." He paused as her last comment settled in his brain. "Wait, Mandy reminds you of Nellie from Little House?"  
  
"I didn't say that. You said you wanted the name--"  
  
"The mean blonde girl," he makes a winding motion with his fingers. "With the big curls?"   
  
"Yeah,"  
  
He gave her a questioning look and finally raises his eyebrows at her. Perhaps comparing her boss' girlfriend to a hated TV character wasn't the best of ideas.  
  
"Okay," he finally said, "I can see that."  
  
"You can?"  
  
"Sure. Well, minus the blonde hair and prairie inspired garb." He smiled which made Donna's grin widen even more.   
  
"So, what did you do this time?"  
  
"Ah,' he said with a shake of his head. "I gave her a lobster."  
  
"A lobster?"  
  
"Yeah, we. . . uh. . .we met in a seafood restaurant. I thought the lobster thing might be cute. You know, cute in a strictly manly, cute boyfriend kinda way."  
  
Donna put her hand to her chest, one of those sappy girly looks forming over her face that made Josh groan and look away. "You gave her a stuffed lobster and she got mad at you?" Mandy was worse than even Nellie on Little House. Donna was starting to think she was more evil than Alexis Carrington.  
  
"Well, actually, the lobster was alive."  
  
Donna's hand dropped from her chest down to the table. "It's alive?"  
  
"Yeah. . . well, it *was* alive." He said, shutting his eyes tightly. "It guess it was dead when she got it. It was a long trip from Nova Scotia to DC."  
  
Donna smacked her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from bursting out laughing.   
  
"It's not funny," he said, starting to laugh.   
  
She nodded, her hand still covering her mouth as she turned bright red.   
  
"Anyway," he said, with a wave of his hand. "I guess she didn't exactly like it."  
  
"What did she say?"   
  
"Well, first of all, she expects flowers by tomorrow morning."  
  
Donna nodded. Flowers to make up for something he had done were common practice. Jimmy, the owner of the flower shop in Georgetown recognized Donna's voice now when she called at least once a week.   
  
"I'm also apparently now, 'Joshua Lyman, master seafood slaughterer.'"  
  
"That's gotta hurt. Oh, I know," she said with a snap of her fingers. "You should put her on your list."  
  
"What list?"  
  
"You know, the one I got put on a couple months ago for calling you Jungle Boy."  
  
He smiled. "You remember that?"  
  
"Sure. So, is Mandy on the list?"  
  
He shook his head, still smiling. "No, Mandy can't be on my list."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"She just can't."  
  
"Why?" She pried even more.  
  
"She's just not list material."   
  
"And I am?" She asked, confused.  
  
"Yeah." He smiled at her for a few more seconds before getting up and leaving the room.   
  
She could of also swore he started to blush.   
  
This is when Donna decided that maybe being on the list wasn't such a bad thing after all.   
  
* * *  
  
"Take the tie off."  
  
"No!"  
  
"Please," she pleaded in a soft voice.  
  
"What's wrong with this tie?" He grabbed the scrap of fabric between his fingers and looked questionably at her.   
  
"What's wrong with it is that my dad had that tie in 1986. You're meeting with a member of congress and you're wearing a tie with diagonal stripes, Josh." She looked down at the tie and sighed. "Brown and tan diagonal stripes."  
  
"There's nothing wrong with diagonal stripes. Besides, it's Matt Skinner. He's republican. Who the hell cares what he thinks of my tie? Look," he said, pointing down the hall. "Toby's coming. We'll ask what he thinks."  
  
Toby approached, looking down at report as he quickly devoured a granny smith apple.   
  
"Toby, what do you think of this tie?"  
  
Josh and Donna watched and Toby stopped, looked up from his report, and took another bite of his apple. "Looks like the tie they buried my great uncle Milton in."  
  
Josh smirked at Donna. "Because everyone liked it so much, right?"  
  
"No, because my great aunt Sarah hated it and wanted to make sure she never had to look at it again." He smiled at a now beaming Donna before taking another bite of his apple and walking away.  
  
Josh watched Toby walk down the hall before reluctantly turning back to Donna. "Okay, Toby's opinion doesn't count."  
  
"Listen," Donna said as she watched Congressman Skinner make his way through the bullpen. "He's coming. I beg you not to get snarky and rude when he makes fun of your tie."   
  
"He's not going to make fun of my tie, Donna. In fact, he's going to love it. He's going to love it so much that he's going to ask me if he can borrow it. And you know what I'm going to say?"  
  
"Umm. . . .that you can't because you're giving it to your concerned assistant so she can burn it?"  
  
"No, I'm going to tell him that he can't borrow it because I'm wearing it every day from now on. I'm gonna wear it all the time because I know just how much you like it." He taunted her by giving her a couple pats on the top of her head.   
  
Her glare turned into a forced smile as she looked over Josh's shoulder. "Hi Congressman Skinner."  
  
"Hi Donna. How are. . ." His question was lost as Josh turned around. "Josh?"  
  
"Yeah, Matt?"  
  
"How many times have I told you not to get your fashion inspiration from Three's Company reruns?"  
  
"Well," Josh huffed, stomping off towards the Roosevelt room. "That puts you on the list."  
  
"You know," Congressman Skinner whispered, smiling over to Donna. "He first put me on the list a month after I won my seat."  
  
"I've been on the list for over two years." Donna stated matter of factly.  
  
"Huh. . . Impressive. What did you say to him?"  
  
"I called him Jungle Boy." Donna said, grinning.  
  
"I'll have to remember that," he called back as he tried to catch up to Josh, who stood impatiently at the end of the hall with his hands on his hips.  
  
When he caught up Donna could overhear Josh saying, "It's a very serious list. I'd be scared if I were you."  
  
As she walked back to her desk, still laughing, she remembered how Josh had once told her that Skinner was his favorite member of Congress. You know, for a republican and all.  
  
* * *  
  
"Donna," he says wandering out of his office. "Have you seen my back. . . ." He trails off as he notices Donna standing off to his side, backpack in one hand, and his jacket in the other.   
  
"Well," he grabs for both. "That was typical."  
  
"You gave them to me when you went to meet with the kids. Are you going home now?"  
  
"Yeah,"  
  
"Are you going to work?"  
  
"Yeah," he nods.  
  
"Are you really going to work?"  
  
"No," he says, digging for his car keys. "I'm going to watch Nightline and pass out." He motions down the hall. "You coming?"  
  
"Yeah, just give me a minute."  
  
She gathers up her stuff, turning off her computer and desk lamp. She sets out a copy of Josh's schedule to give him tomorrow morning when he whines that he lost the one she gave him tonight. Then she throws another copy into her drawer for when he looses that one.   
  
"Josh?" she asks as they start to make their way down the hall.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"What did you think of that kid Billy?"  
  
"You mean Fred?"  
  
"Yeah, you liked him, didn't you?"  
  
"Let's see. . . .he had no problem speaking up to me,"  
  
"Right,"  
  
"He corrected me,"  
  
"Uh-huh,"  
  
"And don't tell anyone but there's a small chance. . . miniscule really that he's smarter than me."  
  
She stops in the hall, clutching her chest and makes an exaggerated huffing noise. "I'm shocked."  
  
"That there's someone out there smarter than me?"  
  
"No, there's plenty of people out there smarter than you. I'm just shocked you'd ever admit it." She gives him a teasing smile, waiting for the inevitable comeback line. He just stands there, though, staring back at her returning the smile. "You really did like him?" she finally asks.  
  
"I put him on my list, didn't I."  
  
She smiles even more. "You mean your very serious list with grave consequences?"   
  
He nods. "That would be the one."  
  
"Well," she says, starting to walk again. "As long as he doesn't try to upstage me and pass me on the list."  
  
"Somehow, Donna, I don't think that's possible." He keeps walking and it takes him a couple steps before realizing she's no longer by his side.   
  
"Really?" her voice cracks. She has another one of those sappy girly looks that usually makes him cringe. This time, though, he smiles back, thinking his he has an almost similar look on his face and says, "Yeah, really."  
  
They continue to stare at eachother and both start to independently think that it's quite possible they may be stuck in these exact spots for the rest of the night. Finally, Josh rolss back on his heals and breaks the silence. "Spy Kids."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"It's new on video."  
  
She takes a few steps forward and points at him. "You were never planning on working, were you?"  
  
"No," he sheepishly admits.  
  
"And you're not planning on watching Nightline."  
  
He roles his eyes. "No. Now, are you going to stand here all night and make fun of me or are you going to come to Blockbuster with me to get the movie."  
  
"I think I want to stand here all night and make fun of you. . . ." She pauses as her eyes start to light up. "Jungle boy."  
  
"Don't call me that," he says, walking out of the bullpen.  
  
"How about Spy Boy?"  
  
He considers it for a moment. "Okay, but only when we're watching the movie. After that it's back to just plain old Jungle Boy."   
  
"I thought you just said I couldn't call you Jungle Boy."  
  
He shrugs he shoulders. "I changed my mind."  
  
"Okay, you can't go changing you mind. If you do I'll be forced to. . ."  
  
"Forced to what?"  
  
"I'll be forced to put you on *my* list."  
  
He lets out a snort. "You don't have a list."  
  
"Fear my list, Joshua."  
  
"I don't fear you little list, Donna."  
  
"You should," she says, linking her arm through his and pulling him along. "It's a very serious list."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
